'Just fix the rot'

HARARE - Long-suffering Zimbabweans, reeling from the country’s deepening political and economic rot, have savaged the ruling Zanu PF’s tendencies to resort to thuggery, crass excuses, insults, character assassinations and a “contemptible manipulation” of the country’s liberation war in its desperate bid to remain in power.

Speaking to the Daily News at the weekend, analysts and opposition parties implored President Robert Mugabe and his ruling party to “work hard to fix their mess” instead of intimidating, battering and blaming critics for their misrule of the past 36 years, including the country’s dying economy.

The sentiments come in the wake of the government resorting more and more to its coercive apparatus against dissenting voices, as well as an ever heightening propaganda and smear blitzkrieg in poodle State media that is targeting all of the ruling party’s detractors.

“It is clear that Zanu PF can no longer govern persuasively and has lost the confidence of a significant proportion of the citizenry. That is why it is resorting to extensive use of coercive apparatus,” said former Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition executive director, McDonald Lewanika.

“At this point, attempting to draw legitimacy from history through contrived hagiographic accounts of the liberation struggle will not help. People have more urgent social and economic issues, bread and butter issues that need to be resolved practically today, which will not, unfortunately be dealt with through rhetoric,” he added.

Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said gone were the days when Zimbabweans could be easily silenced by the threats of politicians and the sight of police in riot gear.

“Zimbabweans need basic services and a functional government. We have poor service delivery and a chaotic government at present. Threats work to a certain extent, but as long as people are hungry, such threats will reach a point where they don’t work. We are at that juncture.

“’Dying for this country’ as Zanu PF says should mean giving people freedoms, rights and delivering basic services. This is indeed what the likes of (Josiah) Tongogara and (Hebert) Chitepo died for. They did not die to usher in more misery to the people of Zimbabwe that surpasses what they endured under Ian Smith’s regime.

“They did not die to have Mugabe die in power. They did not also die to have bad laws or a corrupt police force. They did not die to have Itai Dzamara disappear in broad day light and not be seen again,” Saungweme said.

“The public’s reaction to such attacks could be counter-productive as it may raise questions of what exactly happened to Solomon Mujuru and who did what in the cause of his death,” University of Zimbabwe politics lecturer, Eldred Masunugure, told the Daily News.

“This reflects panic in Zanu PF, particularly among its leaders. But the attacks will not achieve the intended results definitely,” he said.

“Zimbabwe has now entered the era of smart and effective retail politics. The people of Zimbabwe want to hear about solid economic policies and deliverables. The era of demagoguery is over.

“Any serious political party, particularly a so-called ruling party, should work on a viable and attractive election manifesto,” MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu said.

Mugabe last month attacked western governments in the wake of growing protests and his stunning fallout with war veterans.

“I also want to warn foreign embassies, the British, French and Americans who are meddling in our politics, although they do so clandestinely, to desist from that.

“These are ambassadors of countries that imposed sanctions on us, so we have said we will kick them out of the country. They do not want to see peace in developing countries,” he said during a hastily-arranged meeting with Zanu PF supporters in Harare last month.

This was after war veterans had issued a stinging communiqué in which they ended their long-standing relationship with the nonagenarian that goes back to the 1970s liberation struggle.

“They just want to see chaos; people fighting each other, terrorism everywhere. British and American ambassadors, what kind of people are they? They are no good for us. Behave and you will be in peace with us. Misbehave and we will kick you in your bottom. It is our country,” he thundered further then.

Mugabe’s attacks were made as his government, led by Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, was desperately trying to normalise relations with the international community – including some of the countries that were at the receiving end of the Zimbabwean leader’s venom.

Zimbabwe needs more than $4 billion to resuscitate its dying economy which has seen the country experiencing severe cash shortages and the government failing to pay its civil service on time.

Last week, lapdog State media launched a blistering attack on the widow of Zimbabwe’s first black military commander, Joice Mujuru, after she had held joint rallies with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in Gweru.

Mujuru, Tsvangirai and other 16 opposition political parties are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) this week as part of operationalising the agreement to form a grand coalition against Mugabe in the eagerly-anticipated 2018 elections.

Comments (9)

" WORK HARD TO FIX THEIR MESS ... " I am surprised there are people among us who still think Zanu-PF can work , worse still fix their mess. Do you think they care for anybody other than safeguarding their ill-gotten loots ? Eceryone of them knows the right thing to do as required by their positions of power. The right thing demands accountability; and this is what they want to hear. This is why they destroyed all systems which Rhodesia has in place so that they can do as they please (loot, rape, maim and murder) without being held accountable. Anybody who think these thugs will ever do anything good for Zimbabwe is like Boxer in the book Animal Farm. Nothing other than booting them out from power will yield change and bring us hope that whoever succeed them will fix their mess - not them. We do not owe them any amount of politeness telling them to fix their mess which they deliberately created.

Masamba Akareyo - Tanganda - 22 August 2016

Zanu cannot fix the economy, they actually don't understand how a country's economy functions. The best they can for Zimbabwe is to leave office now, they have never been about good governance, let alone fix the economy. They are just a cruel and insensitive lot

Mandiitawefodya - 22 August 2016

I agree with you guys, Zanu's tactic is about diverting attention. They put all their efforts in attacking opposition while the economy is on a free fall, typical embeciles.

Shaw Golazi - 22 August 2016

How can you attack the West by day and send your minister with a begging bowl by night ? This is classic Mugabe, absolute hypocrisy at its best.

Chimz - 23 August 2016

What do you expect from a govt of story tellers, murderers, thieves, wife-stealers, thugs and demagogues?

They can't fix the rot they caused. This party should just disappear from the scene.

dziva - 23 August 2016

The problems we face can't b solved with same thinking that created them! So to tell ZANU pf to solve its mess is just a waste of time....coz they hav no working formula to resuscitate th dead economy. Kurarama neraki or mayb ne rigging. Mayb nikivu can help ZANU pf to rig th economy?!?

Dhewa - 23 August 2016

You are asking vultures not to scavenge, that's what they do. Zanu and those who belong to it are incapable of thinking properly to deliver a sound program that will deliver the country from the very same mess they created. Zimbabwe needs a proper clear out and a transition government made up of technocrats that will build proper robust institutions and disqualify those with a record like zanoids or tendencies to support such from being in a position of power.

Galore - 24 August 2016

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